Customer Reviews

Don Quixote [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fragmentary story? Second-rate musical score? Why do they, if they really are, have to have anything to do with the great dancing presented in this version? Remember, Don Quixote is an immense one-thousand-page novel, not a brief, straightforward fable like Swan Lake. About the musical score, it is indeed a subjective matter. I myself enjoy Minkus' very much. To me, criticizing a ballet performance for its inherent story and musical score is pointless, anyway.

Put aside the blurry video quality (unbearable for a production recorded only about ten years ago), this Kirov version of Don Quixote is undeniable. Nice choreography and sophisticated Kirov dancers made this performance impeccable and delicate. Tatyana Terekhova and Farouk Ruzimatov presented beautiful postures and powerful leaping in a skillful and effortless manner. Bravo! This is all I can say.

Every time I see this dancer, I am amazed. She has the poise and grace as well as speed during her fuete's and other turns that just make viewers dizzy! Anything with her name is worth buying.

This is my favourite Don Quixote. It is lengthy, with much more of Don Quixote himself than any other version available at the moment. Fadayechev is not as charismatic as Baryshnikov in the same role, but overall the production is more satisfying. Nina Ananiashvili as Kitri is just terrific - the right ballerina in the right role.

I enjoyed the Kirov production though as a ballet dancer myself, I could see the flaws. Kitri, the main character in this ballet is in love with Basilio. She learns of her father's plans to marry her to a ugly nobleman. Don Quixote enters the town, though he is not a main character, he is apart of the story. The whole story has brilliant dancing by the kirov members. Though Don Quixote, for a non-ballet fan can seem too long. You have to know the story line before you watch the ballet because it more about the dancing than the charcters. My personal take on the flaws is that they kept on having fun with the zoom. As a dancer I would like to see their steps and not their facial expressions, and it is not too alluring to see Tatyana's expressions all sweaty and tired. Plus it's a kultur video...bad quility. The quility is almost like the comercial quilities of the early eightes, since is from that time. The music was clear and the costumes were to die for. But if you want a flawless video to learn from, if your a dancer, get the American Ballet Theatre one with Baryskinkov, but if you want a cheap movie to bore your husband with buy this one. If you want a complelling story line I suggest Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, or Nutcracker (Which I think any time of the season is great) I only suggest this tape if you love dance, don't worry about quility, and just want to sit back and let this 120 minute ballet take it's toll....buy it!

Nina and every other principal dancer performs wonderfully. The entire production, including scenery, costuming, was first rate. I had never heard of the Perm Ballet, but they were are as good as any I have ever seen. On top of all this, Nina's performance is out of this world.

Ananiashvili is superb in this ballet, and overall it is a wonderful performance, but it does have its flaws. First of all, I found Alexei Fadeyetchev to be a disappointment. Secondly, there are parts in this production that don't seem to quite fit: the weird pirate dance in Act 2, Scene 1 comes to mind, as does the second "flower girl" variation in Act 3, which uses the same music as Julie Kent's variation in ABT's Le Corsaire. Then there is Nina's own popularity, which is well deserved, but also means that there are many long curtain calls between acts and that can get tedious.Finally, the Amour variation in the Dryad scene is missing, and Nina wears a tutu that looks suspiciously similar to the one worn by Princess Aurora in the Sleeping Beauty.

In spite of all this, it is a first-rate production, with colorful and lively sets and costumes that really match the mood of the ballet. The corps work is excellent, as are most of the supporting soloists. Very good picture quality and audio. I wouldn't necessarily recomment Don Q for a ballet novice, but for ballet buffs this is a very good choice.

I got this video and was dissapointed with the quality of the production itself, not to mention the video. There are way too many people onstage, the costumes look like salvation army quality, and the music is like a patchwork quilt. It's hard even for a dancer like myself to understand everything thats going on all the time. In act 2, there was a variation set to the pas de duex in "Le Corsaire" (danced wonderfully by Nereyev and Fonteyn in "Great Pas de Deux" also by Kultur). Also missing was Kitri's fan variation in the final act in the wedding pas de deux (a ballerina's dream to dance). Overall, I love Russian ballet but this in this video it doesn't do it justice. The prduction looked like it was rushed and put together. Add 50 fans and black lace and there you go. I would recommend the ABT version with Barishnikov and Gregory ( she is truly wonderful in the final pas de deux) the production is a better visual version as well as choreographically. Trust me! I am a dancer i know which one would be better to dance and see!!

If you like ballet, this is the movie for you!